SPORTS
A hot start for the men's lacrosse team as the season picks up speed
March 16, 2012
Continued from page I
second half to come back and top the Panthers. Sophomore
midfielder Kyle Smith was in awe after the exhilarating
win.
"1 have never been a part of a sporting event like that,"
said Smith. "The way we were able to battle back and
never give up shows what type of team we have."
Following the win, the team headed back to campus for
a week of hard practices to prepare for their next game
against Birmingham-Southern College. The game did not
go as planned for the Quakers.
After an early 3-0 lead for BSC and a slow start for the
Quakers, the team knew they were facing a formidable
opponent. Stifling a late surge from the Quakers,
Birmingham-Southern was able to hold on for a 12-10
win.
Although the team suffered the loss, they know they
have the potential to be a great team.
"Even though we couldn't pull out a win, our end goals
are still intact," said senior captain Chris Sisk. "This is
just a minor road bump in a long season."
Following the loss to BSC, the team pulled out two
convincing victories over spring break. A nine-goal win
over Berry College, 12-3, followed by an 18-3 win over
visiting Cazenovia College. The team had bought in to
the coach's game-plan.
But, it did not happen overnight.
Over the past two years the team has seen a major
overhaul, which started with the hiring of head coach
Tom Carmean.
Carmean has been able to implement his own brand
of lacrosse over the past season, which has proved very
successful.
This season Carmean brought in 16 newcomers to the
team.
"Plain and simple: Carmean knows lacrosse," Ashkraft
said of the second-year coach. "He is a wealth of
knowledge when it comes to lacrosse."
But there is much more involved than running, stick
tricks or goalies blocking 80-100 m.p.h. shots on goal.
To prepare for the season, players had off-season
workouts throughout the fall and winter. The goal for
the workouts was to strengthen players for their tough
schedule in 2012.
"The workouts were definitely difficult," said Sisk.
"The coaches were constantly pushing us to get better. It
will all pay off when the season starts."
With a record of 4-2, the team looks to keep battling
forward and to keep improving. Every day, they look to
get better and compete with one another to prepare for
their games in the always tough Old Dominion Athletic
Conference.
Picked in the preseason to finish in seventh place, the
Quakers look to continue their winning ways en route to
finishing the season at the top of the standings.
The Quakers next game is Saturday, March 17, at home
against Randolph College at 1 p.m. at Appenzeller Field.
Sophomore Chase Clausen makes a strong offensive move
en route to one of his four goals against Cazenovia.The Quakers
went on to win the match 18-3.
Jeremy Lin, reviving the Knicks & NBA and making history
By Haejin Song
Staff Writer
May the Best Man Lin. Lincredible. Lin
Your Face. The headlines are at it again ...
Linsanity, that is.
Fans from all across the nation chant his
name, #17 New York Knicks jersey sales are
off the charts, and Madison Square Garden is
buzzing with the new sensation in town.
"MVP, MVP, MVP," roared the crowd at
MSG on Feb. 6, where the Knicks beat the
Utah Jazz, as they gave a standing ovation to
the one and only Jeremy Lin who scored 28
points.
However, not too long ago, the basketball
phenomenon and point guard for the NY
Knicks, was virtually unknown and did not
have a team or position to call his own.
After graduating from Harvard with an
economics degree in 2010, Lin went undrafted
in that spring s NBA Draft. However, he
was later able to sign a two-year deal worth
close to $500,000 with his hometown team,
the Golden State Warriors. After a year, the
Warriors waived Lin in order to free salary cap
space for other potentially- stronger players,
according to ESPN.
In 2011, Lin was taken in by the Houston
Rockets, but also waived shortly afterwards.
Fast forward to the 2012 season.
With several Knicks players injured and the
team in need of back-up players, Jeremy Lin
was in luck. After joining the Knicks, it was
one particular game that would unexpectedly
change Lin s career and story into a triumphant
Linderella tale.
On Feb. 4, as the Knicks were in need
of a lead against the New Jersey Nets, the
desperate Coach Mike D'Antoni gave Lin a
chance to play
It was not long before everyone realized
they were in for a surprise.
"Jeremy Lin knocks it down, career high 15
(points)!" said one broadcaster, shortly after
Lin entered the game. "Perhaps the unlikeliest
Knick to be the hero. What a story tonight at
the Garden." And it certainly was a story. It
became history.
The Knicks beat the Nets that evening by
a final score of 99-92, with Lin ultimately
scoring 25 points. In the following games, Lin
became a starter and led the underscoring and
once-reeling Knicks to a seven-game winning
streak that "saved the season," according to
the New York Umes.
On Feb. 10, in a pre-game interview for tlie
much anticipated rivalry game between the
Knicks and the LA Lakers, Kobe Bryant gave a
cold shoulder to Linsanity.
When asked about Jeremy Lin, Bryant flatly
stated, "I have no idea what you guys are
talking about, but I'll take a look at it tonight."
The Lakers' star certainly had a chance
to witness Lin's talent after the Lakers were
defeated 92-85. Lin scored a new career-high
that day with 38 points, outscoring Bryant
who fell short with 34 points.
Looking back, Bryant formed a new opinion
of the young guard.
"The biggest thing to me is how everybody
missed it, said Bryant, according to the
Associated Press, before the All-Star Game.
"I hear this stuff, 'It came out of nowhere.' ...
You can't play that well and just come out of
nowhere."
"You have to sacrifice a lot to be the best
because it takes a lot of time, effort and
patience," Guilford College Head Coach of
Women's Basketball Stephanie Flamini added.
Jeremy Lin has garnered the attention of
fans not only in the U.S. but in the world,
especially in Taiwan and China.
"I like him a lot," said Timothy Chang,
a Taiwanese-American and junior in the
Early College at Guilford. "Graduating from
Harvard, his emphasis on teamwork, his
humility, and the fact that he beat Kobe Bryant
— now that's pretty impressive."
"My mom has been following the
basketball games more closely to watch the
Jeremy Lin sensation," added Lily Huang,
also a Taiwanese-American and Early College
student. "My family usually never watches
sports on TV."
Aside from fans, Lin has also received
noteworthy attention from players, basketball
legends, and other superstars — or shall I say,
"super-fans."
Bryant's fellow Lakers teammate, Metta
World Peace, rushed out of the Lakers players'
lounge yelling, "Linsanity!" when Lin made
the unexpected game winning three-pointer
against the Toronto Raptors with less than a
second left in the game, according to the LA
Times.
Celebrities such as Paul McCartney, Seth
Meyers, Eva Longoria, and Facebook founder
Mark Zuckerberg were recently spotted at
Knicks' games as Linsanity continued.
But there was one fan whose obsession
and deep affection for the Knicks could not
have been matched to anyone's: the number
one Knicks and Lin fan. Spike Lee, who was
recently seen donning Lin's high school jersey.
"If you took this to any studio, they
would say, 'Get outta here.'" Lee told an
ESPN broadcast reporter. "He's Taiwanese-
American, a Harvard grad, undrafted, cut
by the Golden Warriors, cut by the Houston
Rockets, now he's the toast of the world? This
is bigger than sports."
Newly acquired point-guard Jeremy Lin has been the needed spark for the Kniqks as Linsanity
has taken New York City by storm. In 29 games, Lin has posted averages of 14.7 points per game
and 6.3 assists per game. He did all this while shooting 45 percent from the field.